1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to settings for image output operation of printing an image, or sending an image in the form of image data for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
Information devices having increased functions such as Multi-functional Peripherals (MFPs) are provided with a touch-sensitive panel as an input means. This enables a variety of operations with operating screens switched between each other. The touch-sensitive panel herein is a touchpad pointing device to be placed on a display in use, such as a liquid crystal display. The surface of the touch-sensitive panel functions both as a screen on which an image of an operating screen is displayed and as a touch-sensitive surface on which a user performs operation.
The touch-sensitive panel is also used as an input means of a mobile information device. In particular, a project-type capacitive touch-sensitive panel is used in a smartphone and a tablet personal computer. The use of this type of touch-sensitive panel enables a user to make a well-known single touch gesture such as tap or flick, and to make a multi-touch gesture of touching the touch-sensitive surface with a plurality of fingers at the same time.
Examples of the multi-touch gesture are: “pinch-in” of touching the touch-sensitive surface with two fingers and bringing them closer together; “pinch-out” of touching the touch-sensitive surface with two fingers and moving them apart; and “rotate” of touching the touch-sensitive surface with two fingers and sliding one fingertip or two fingertips to change the direction of a segment line connecting to both the fingertips. In general, pinch-in is regarded as an operation to reduce a displayed image, pinch-out is regarded as an operation to enlarge a displayed image, and rotate is regarded as operation to change an image orientation.
There has been proposed to provide, in an image forming apparatus for outputting an image by printing onto paper, a user interface through which print magnification is set in accordance with a multi-touch gesture. A technology has been disclosed which allows a user to easily designate, through pinch-in and pinch-out, a magnification suitable for printing onto paper having a standard size (Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication Nos. 2012-123066 and 2012-121179).
According to the image forming apparatus described in English abstract of the former publication, when pinch-in is performed during a print preview, a size-changing ratio is reduced gradually. When the size-changing ratio reaches a size-changing ratio suitable for a predetermined standard size, the size-changing ratio is maintained regardless of the pinch-in. When pinch-out is performed, the size-changing ratio is increased gradually, and the size-changing ratio suitable for the standard size is maintained. This enables a user to cause an image to be printed at the size-changing ratio suitable for paper having the standard size without adjusting precisely a distance between user's fingers.
According to the image forming apparatus described in English abstract of the latter publication, when quick pinch-in in which a moving speed between two points designated by a touch is equal to or more than a threshold is made during a print preview, instead of the current scale ratio, a scale ratio smaller than the current scale ratio and suitable for the predetermined standard size is set. When quick pinch-out is made, instead of the current scale ratio, a scale ratio larger than the current scale ratio and suitable for a predetermined standard size is set. The latter publication discloses that the repetition of quick operation makes it possible to enlarge or reduce an image step by step to match the standard size gradually set.
According to the technologies in the foregoing publications, the print magnification is gradually changed and set to fit into a larger standard size or into a smaller standard size in response to pinch-in or pinch-out. The number of settable magnifications is therefore limited to the number of standard sizes preset in stages. The number of standard sizes actually depends on which size of paper is loaded in the image forming apparatus. Accordingly, the number of settable magnifications is limited to the number of paper feed trays into which sheets of paper having different sizes are loaded, i.e., limited to the number of choices of paper size. For this reason, in particular, in the case of reducing or enlarging with the aspect ratio unchanged an image having an aspect ratio completely different from that of general standard paper, e.g., a Web page image which is not created based on the premise that it is printed out, in order to fit the image into paper with any one of the selectable sizes, it is necessary to reduce the image excessively in some cases, or, the image cannot be enlarged enough in other cases.